A New Beginning
by BHappy107
Summary: Karen's best friend from high school, Betsey, just passed away. Kayla, Betsey's daughter, comes to live with Karen and Lucas. Read to see how Kayla adjusts to life in Tree Hill...


Disclaimer: I don't own anything from One Tree Hill, but I made up the character of Kayla Johansson and Betsey Johansson.  
  
From the first day of kindergarten, Betsey Johansson and Karen Roe had been the best of friends. They were absolutely inseparable. Whenever Betsey got in trouble and had to sit in time-out, Karen insisted that she got time-out too. Things stayed this way up until Betsey's wedding day, for which, Karen was a bridesmaid and pregnant with Dan Scott's child. Two months later, when Betsey got pregnant, Karen stayed by her side day in and day out. A short while after Lucas was born, Betsey had her daughter, whom she named Kayla. Karen was named Kayla's godmother, and next of kin incase anything were to happen to Betsey.  
Around when Kayla and Lucas were both 4 years old, Betsey got a job offering in Atlanta and moved. Everything went fine for another 3 years. Then, the unthinkable happened. Betsey's husband, Joe, got hit by a drunk driver and died on the spot. Betsey was devastated for months, but eventually coped with it. She moved again, this time to New Jersey to go to school to become a certified nurse.  
Nine years later, Betsey developed a rare form of leukemia, which turned out to be life threatening. She tried all kinds of treatment, but nothing worked. Betsey's health progressively worsened. The doctors lost all hope. Betsey sadly passed away, leaving Kayla all alone....  
  
Airplanes. Something about them always made Kayla feel nervous. She always got this feeling in her stomach, the kind she got whenever she lied to her mom. It was a mixed feeling of guilt and fear. That was what Kayla felt now. After her mom had passed away, everything had changed. A once bubbly and outgoing Kayla became shy and reserved. She began losing interest in everything, one by one. Even her friends treated her differently, not knowing what to say or do whenever they were around her.  
Since she was only 17, Kayla was not allowed to live alone. At first, the social workers were planning to have Kayla go and live with her 80-year- old grandmother in Indiana. That was, until they read Betsey's will. It clearly stated that incase anything were to happen to Betsey that Kayla was to go live with Karen Roe.  
So here she was. On a one-way plane to Tree Hill, NC, the same place that Kayla had spent the first four years of her life. But that was all in the past. Kayla didn't remember anything about Tree Hill. So she had decided to find out. Before she left for the airport that morning, Kayla had uncovered a box of photographs in the attic. Looking through them, she saw the same two people in all the pictures. A pretty woman with dark hair, who Kayla assumed was Karen, and a young blond boy. One particular picture had caught Kayla's eye. It was taken at a park, with Betsey and Karen sitting on a bench talking. In front of them sat Kayla and the blond boy laughing, both their faces covered with ice cream.  
Kayla leaned back on the seat and heard a wince behind her. She turned around to see an elderly man glaring at her.  
"Oh, sorry sir", she said apologetically, turning back around, bringing her focus back to the picture. She stared at it a bit longer, until she got bored and eventually fell asleep.  
  
"Mom, remind me why I had to get up at 4 am to come to the airport with you", said a half-asleep Lucas Scott, struggling to stay awake.  
"Lucas, I explained already", said Karen in an exasperated voice. "Kayla will be living with us, now that her mother has passed away."  
"Yeah, I got that part. But why did I have to come along. You know, normal people enjoy sleeping in on Saturday mornings. Call me crazy, but I do too." The truth was, Lucas was kind of eager to see what Kayla was like. His mom told him stories about when they were little, but Lucas didn't remember anything.  
  
"Excuse me", said Kayla making her way out of baggage claim. She nervously eyed the crowd, looking for a familiar face. Then she saw the people from the photograph. Karen caught Kayla's eye and waved. Along with the blond boy, she made her way over to Kayla.  
"Hi, uh, Karen?" she said uncertainly.  
"Oh my gosh, Kayla? Wow, I haven't seen you since you were four years old" said Karen, giving her a hug.  
Kayla reluctantly hugged her back. The blond boy took the suitcases, as they made their way to the parking lot. 


End file.
